Micronesia : Business Environment: Imports Procedure Complexity

Infographic SummaryThe import cost per container in Micronesia, Fed. Sts. is 1,295 US$. Micronesia, Fed. Sts. ranks #92 worldwide in terms of the Cost to import . In total, 6 documents are required to import a shipment to Micronesia, Fed. Sts. and the Time to import is 30 days making Micronesia, Fed. Sts. the #159 fastest country in the world in terms of the total required import time.

Cost to import (US$ per container)Cost measures the fees levied on a 20-foot container in U.S. dollars. All the fees associated with completing the procedures to export or import the goods are included. These include costs for documents, administrative fees for customs clearance and technical control, customs broker fees, terminal handling charges and inland transport. The cost measure does not include tariffs or trade taxes. Only official costs are recorded.Documents to import (number)All documents required per shipment to import goods are recorded. It is assumed that the contract has already been agreed upon and signed by both parties. Documents required for clearance by government ministries, customs authorities, port and container terminal authorities, health and technical control agencies and banks are taken into account. Since payment is by letter of credit, all documents required by banks for the issuance or securing of a letter of credit are also taken into account. Documents that are renewed annually and that do not require renewal per shipment (for example, an annual tax clearance certificate) are not included.Time to import (days)Time to import is the time necessary to comply with all procedures required to import goods. Time is recorded in calendar days. The time calculation for a procedure starts from the moment it is initiated and runs until it is completed. If a procedure can be accelerated for an additional cost, the fastest legal procedure is chosen. It is assumed that neither the exporter nor the importer wastes time and that each commits to completing each remaining procedure without delay. Procedures that can be completed in parallel are measured as simultaneous. The waiting time between procedures--for example, during unloading of the cargo--is included in the measure.Lead time to import, median case (days)Lead time to import is the median time (the value for 50 percent of shipments) from port of discharge to arrival at the consignee. Data are from the Logistics Performance Index survey. Respondents provided separate values for the best case (10 percent of shipments) and the median case (50 percent of shipments). The data are exponentiated averages of the logarithm of single value responses and of midpoint values of range responses for the median case.